


(Not So) Mediocre Me

by jellyryans (ryankellycc)



Series: One Two Three, You and Me [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Podcaster AU, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, supportive boyfriends, they help each other with Anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 10:03:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15240999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryankellycc/pseuds/jellyryans
Summary: Tanaka Ryuunosuke is about to get on stage and perform a live episode of his podcast,Mediocre Me, for the first time. He's nervous, but luckily he's got a supportive boyfriend who isn't afraid to be a little ridiculous.





	(Not So) Mediocre Me

**Author's Note:**

> Got word that were are able to post the full version of our pieces for Against All Odds, a Haikyuu!! Rarepair Zine, so here it be!

Tanaka exhaled as he pushed up, eyes now arm’s length from the dingy carpet, muscles straining as he held his weight above the floor. The familiar burn in his biceps sent a pleasant surge of adrenaline through his body, but it was no match for the butterflies that fluttered through his system. 

He lowered his chin to the ground, let out a long, measured breath and pushed back up on the exhale. Wings tickled his insides like feathers on toes, so he kept his back straight and parallel to the floor as his fingers dug into the carpet. His shoulders flexed with muscle memory as he held himself aloft. 

“Well, mediocre me,” he said in his best recording voice, “do you have any time to waste looking down?” 

Predictably, the carpet didn’t respond, and Tanaka was tired of staring at the ground. 

In one fluid motion, he brought his legs underneath him and jumped into a standing position. Tanaka closed his eyes and let a deep breath inflate his lungs, expanding his ribcage as he took in the stale convention center air. Opening his eyes, he cleared his throat and addressed the forgotten scraps of clothing, ripped candy wrappers, and crumpled pieces of paper that littered the small room. 

“I’m allowed to be nervous,” he said, reassuring the room of the confidence he knew simmered just underneath his skin and challenging the butterflies that kept it from bubbling over. The room was quiet in response, but the loud hum of the crowd on the other side of the wall reminded him that, in just ten minutes, he’d be in front of an audience for the first time. 

They would see him kiss his biceps, scratch an itch, or pick his nose. They’d hear every “um” and “shit” and the only editing time he would have would be the millisecond before a word left his mouth. 

He swore he could hear his heart pound against his ribcage, so he brought his hands above his head and slapped his palms together as he moved his feet apart. His heart rate picked up with each clap of his hands and hop of his feet. The butterflies were still flapping their wings like their lives depended on it, but there was something else stirring inside him, something that broke the levee and let his confidence soar. 

Finally, he was getting excited. 

On the count of twenty, he stopped and clasped his hands in front of him, batting his eyelashes.  
“Oh Ryuu,” he crooned, the playful impersonation precisely half an octave above his own voice. “Your first live show was so amazing!”  
He switched his voice back to an approximation of his own, only slightly deeper. “That was nothin,’ just another bangin’ episode of _Mediocre Me_ , by bangin’ podcaster Tanaka Ryuunosuke!”

“Wow,” he said in the other voice, smacking his lips with an exaggerated pop. “ _Mediocre Me_ is my favorite podcast of all time and your confidence is super dreamy!”

“Babe, you’re the best,” Tanaka cooed to himself, and just as he puckered his lips to receive an imaginary kiss, someone’s voice sliced through his half-baked fantasy. 

“Is that supposed to be me?”

Tanaka gasped and spun around on his heels with almost enough force to knock himself over.  
Suga leaned his weight on the doorframe, a thick eyebrow raised high on his forehead. His breaths came in short spurts as he panted, and his cheeks were just the slightest shade of pink. He grinned as he caught his breath and adjusted the strap of the bag haphazardly slung over his chest. 

Tanaka clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth to chide Suga for being out of shape despite his abundance of tips and tricks, but in the very next moment he was launching himself at Suga and lifting him with a hug, bringing him into the room. He squeezed Suga tightly and buried his face in his neck as he twirled Suga in the air. “I thought we were gonna meet up after my show?” he asked, carefully placing Suga back on solid ground.

“Not excited to see me?” Suga said with a pout. 

“No! I mean yes! Wait,” Tanaka said, shaking his head, the shock of seeing his boyfriend still ringing like a bell in his ears. “I’m super excited to see you! But your show, isn’t it still going on? On the other side of the convention center?” 

Suga shrugged, his gesture nonchalant, and the corners of his mouth tugged up into a mischievous grin. “I might’ve ducked out a little early.” Tanaka’s head jerked back in surprise, but Suga cut him off before he could protest. “Asahi and Daichi will be fine without me for a couple minutes.”

“Will they?” 

“They’re grown-ass men, Ryuu,” Suga said, laughing at Tanaka’s honest question and the earnest worry in his eyes. “I had somewhere important to be.”

“But your show! You ran! You didn’t have to come all the way - ouch!” 

Suga pinched his cheek, interrupting him mid-sentence. “I didn’t have to do anything, you big idiot,” he huffed. “I wanted to.”

“Okay, okay!” 

“Okay?” 

“Okay,” Tanaka repeated softly, smiling at Suga despite the fingers digging into his skin. “I’m glad you’re here.”

Suga loosened his grip and patted Tanaka’s cheek, smiling back. “Me too.”

“So,” Tanaka said, the butterflies in his stomach taking flight again, this time responding to Suga’s toothy smile and the feeling of Suga’s fingers as they settled on his chest. He eyed the bag over Suga’s shoulder. “What’s in the bag?”

“I’m glad you asked!” Suga chirped, backing away from Tanaka. 

Tanaka pouted this time, and tried to keep Suga close by grabbing his waist, but Suga twisted from from his grasp as he brought the strap over his shoulder and let the bag drop to the floor. Suga unzipped the bag torturously slowly and Tanaka tried to peer into the bag as it opened, only to be be swatted away like a pest. 

Suga pulled the zipper down, tooth by painful tooth, and Tanaka whimpered with impatience. “Koushi!”

The use of his given name stilled Suga’s hand instantly. “Low blow, Tanaka-kun,” he laughed. “Fine. Close your eyes.”

“You’re not gonna hit me or do anything gross, right?” 

“Just close them.”

Tanaka capitulated, closing one eye and then, after a beat of hesitation, the other. In the darkness behind his eyelids, he heard the zipper click open the rest of the way and the rustling of fabric. Tanaka crossed his arms and tapped his foot in anticipation. 

“One second,” Suga sang, drawing out the words until he told Tanaka to open his eyes. 

Tanaka opened his eyes and he knew he would remember the sight for the rest of his life.  
Suga stood in front of him, gorgeous as always, but Tanaka’s eyes were drawn away from his boyfriend’s face and down to his bright orange shirt, where his podcast’s logo was professionally printed on the fabric. His attention was redirected again when Suga reached up to tie a long piece of bright orange silk behind his head. In crisp, black characters, _Mediocre Me_ was written out across the portion of the headband that wrapped around his forehead. Once the headband was secure, his hair sticking out at all angles, Suga pulled out a cheap, plastic megaphone in the same shocking shade of orange. 

He couldn’t think of the last time he was speechless, but, as Tanaka regarded his boyfriend, decked out in his podcast’s first merch, a blush rose from the collar of his shirt, up his neck and flooded his cheeks. He was having trouble formulating a single coherent thought, let alone words, so he settled for putting his head in his hands, hiding the tears that beaded in the corners of his eyes.

“It’s perfect, right?” Suga said. “I wanted to go more, like get matching pants or shoes with the logo painted on, but the shirt took longer than I expected, so this is all you’re getting.”

Tanaka peeked through his fingers at Suga, who looked at him expectantly. The sight was too much, and he closed his fingers.

“Tanaka Ryuunosuke,” Suga whispered. “You still in there?”

“Yeah,” Tanaka croaked.

Suga pulled at his hands. “C’mon, you can’t hide forever. You’ve got a show to do in-“

“One minute!” A voice boomed from the hallway.

The call sent Tanaka crashing back into the moment, the one where he had his first live show and his boyfriend was there to support him despite having his own show to do. Tanaka lowered his hand and took one of Suga’s, intertwining their fingers. He squeezed their palms together, and Suga squeezed back.

“Yup, only one minute until I bring so much awesomeness to the stage that no one’s gonna ever forget it!”

“That’s the spirit,” Suga said. He rose on his heels and tugged Tanaka into a heated kiss, lingering just long enough for Tanaka to grip Suga’s hips possessively, before pulling away from him with a loud smack of his lips. “Let’s do this!”

Suga dragged Tanaka, still stunned by the intensity of their kiss, out of the door and lifted the megaphone to his lips as soon as they were in the hallway.

“Make way! Celebrity coming through! Very important person! Please don’t push! Step aside! _Mediocre Me_ , this stage!”  
The four or five people milling around between shows eyed them warily as they marched to the doors, only ten feet away from the ready room they had just left. Suga pulled and pushed Tanaka as he shouted into the imaginary crowd. 

Tanaka watched the back of his head, the tails of Suga’s orange headband swishing as he moved, and laughed to himself. “And to think,” he murmured, “there was a time when I thought Suga was a sensible person!”

**Author's Note:**

> This whole experience was such a dream, and if you're into rarepairs you should definitely check out the [all of the other fics and arts](https://hqrarepairzine.tumblr.com/). The sheer amount of talent is astounding and I'm still so honored to have been a part of it all. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!!


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